Something Better Than This
by Ultrawoman
Summary: AU Season 4. When Michael’s lack of care leads to Jackie kissing the tiny cheese guy, Todd, it is Hyde that catches her in the act. The reactions of those involved lead to surprises for all concerned, in a tale of love, betrayal, and cheese!
1. Chapter 1 : Kiss & Tell

**A/N : When I finished my first ever That 70s Show fic I did say I'd try writing another one soon. Well, a couple of one-shots not withstanding, this is my latest attempt at a J/H fanfic. Here's hoping it doesn't suck!**

**Title : Something Better Than This**

**Rating : PG**

**Summary : AU Season 4. When Michael's lack of care leads to Jackie kissing the tiny cheese guy, Todd, it is Hyde that catches her in the act. The reactions of those involved lead to surprises for all concerned, in a tale of love, betrayal, and cheese!**

_**Disclaimer : All recognisable characters from That 70s Show belong to important people that aren't me!**_

Chapter 1 - Kiss & Tell

"Jackie, you clocked out half an hour ago" Todd said looking bemused as she came rushing back into the Cheese Palace, "Did you come back to tell me something?" he checked hopefully, "because I feel the same way" he told her, though Jackie didn't notice at all. She was too busy pounding on the phone, dialling Michael's number and ranting about how he'd left her standing outside waiting for him for the third time this week. It was bad enough the day he'd been late because he needed to see how the Jetsons ended, but this was it now, she was seriously mad at him!

"I just don't know what's happening to us" she said, anger giving way it sadness somewhat as she hugged herself and looked down at the ground.

"Jackie, you need to cheer up" her boss told her as he stepped toward her, "and the first step to cheering up is giving Todd a hug" he smiled, holding out his arms to her. Grateful for any offer of comfort right now, Jackie stepped into Todd's arms, a little stunned when he pulled her tight to him and crushed his lips to hers. For a moment she was too surprised to react and when she pulled away she almost wished she hadn't as she looked into the surprised face of Steven Hyde.

"Huh" was his reaction to the situation he found himself in.

He'd only come to the mall to find some kind of acceptable birthday present for Mr Forman, after all the family put a roof over his head and everything, he had a little cash saved from his job at the Fotohut. His mind rambled away from where it ought to be before his eyes focused back on the sight of Jackie in her boss' arms, looking startled and embarrassed. She was cheating on Kelso? With this guy? That was just pathetic!

"What should I do?" the scrawny cheese man asked and Jackie instructed him to run, which he did, impressively fast.

"Steven, hi" Jackie smiled, as if nothing had happened, "Is that a new T-shirt, cos the colour is great on you, really brings out the colour of your eyes" she rambled, "At least it will when you're not wearing your glasses, obviously" she laughed too loudly and Hyde shook his head.

"Save it, Jackie" he told her, "I saw what you did, man! I saw tongue" he told her, pointing a finger at her and making her shift uncomfortably.

"Okay, yes, I know" she said, her fingers lacing and unlacing as she panicked, "But, y'know, we don't have to tell Michael about this right, cos y'know he cheated on me, and this, it barely even counts, it was just a kiss I..."

"You what, Jackie?" Hyde asked her interestedly, "You lost your tiny mind somewhere amongst the gouda samples?" he checked.

"Hey, it's not like I did anything so terrible" she protested at his holier-than-thou attitude, "Michael cheated on me with Pam Macy, with Laurie, with God knows who else!" she reminded him, counting the girls off on her fingers as she named them.

"Yeah, but at least he cheated with hot chicks!" Hyde pointed out, "That guy's the best you could do?" he asked in astonishment, "I'm ashamed of you, man, if you wanted to cheat you could've at least picked someone worth cheating for. Even I'd be a cooler choice than him"

"What? You want me to cheat with you?" she asked, getting up in his face.

The strangest intense moment passed between them then as they stood eye to eye and toe to toe, memories of last year flooding back into their minds, her supposed love for him, their first and only date, sitting on the front of her Daddy's car, leaning in close for that kiss...

"In your dreams, doll" Hyde said suddenly pulling back, feeling weird.

Of course she'd got it wrong, he hadn't meant that he wanted to be the guy she cheated on Kelso with, that was just ridiculous, although as he'd told her once before, given half the chance he wouldn't object to doing it with her, she was hot after all, when she wasn't wearing the cheese maiden's uniform.

"Look, Steven" Jackie sighed, looking at the floor and then back up at him, "You won't tell Michael about this will you? Please?"

"Kelso's my friend, Jackie, it'd be dishonourable not to tell him what I know" Hyde told her with a shake of his head, "Of course, I don't actually care about honour, and it'll be more fun to torture you with this information until I'm bored" he said with a laugh that didn't please Jackie at all. This was like a living nightmare!

* * *

Hyde was worried. This he realised as he sat in the basement, surrounded by his friends, all of them staring at the TV on which some crappy show was playing. Hyde couldn't have identified what it was if asked since he really wasn't paying attention at all, just sitting there contemplating something, mostly the fact he might be becoming mentally unstable.

Maybe it was too many years of participating in the Circle, one too many times he'd got a little too 'relaxed'. There really was very few rational explanations of his recent behaviour and it bothered him a great deal to realise it. His friends hadn't noticed any change in him the past twenty four hours, he knew since they happily would have told him he was being weird if they thought so.

Still Steven Hyde had quite decided by now he must be going nuts. After all, he was the only one to know that Jackie had cheated on Kelso with the cheese guy, and yet, he hadn't breathed a word to anyone. He hadn't even been going out of his way to make life miserable for the little princess, which he'd quite promised her he would. He was sure it was unnerving her, the fact he was doing nothing, and what was even more worrying was that Hyde felt bad about that too!

'I do not care about Jackie' he intoned to himself inside his head, arms folded across his chest as he stared at the TV still and got quite angry with himself. He should be using the information he had to his advantage, and yet here he was worrying about whether he should or not, and how the whole thing was hurting Jackie!

As if on cue, the very girl he was arguing with himself over burst into the basement with a fake smile painted on her face. Of course no-one else was smart enough or paid enough attention to know that the grin on her lips was as fake as Mr Pinciotti's hair, nobody but Hyde anyway.

"Michael, sweetie, you were supposed to meet me at The Hub an hour ago" she complained, still smiling and trying not to sound to mad.

Hyde frowned at that. Just because she kissed some other guy, she so should not let herself get treated like a doormat by Kelso. That made her even more pathetic in his eyes, and that and the fight that had been going on in his head for the past hour or more, led him to his first attack since the cheese-guy-kissing incident.

"Y'know Jackie, you should stay here" he said, to everyone else's surprise, "We're just gonna hang out and fool around, and we all know how much you like to _fool around_" he said, giving her a look and a smile that she didn't appreciate.

"Thanks, Steven, but Michael and I want to be alone... at The Hub" she said, reaching for her boyfriends hand, but he shied away.

"No way, I wanna stay here and fool around" he grinned like the idiot he was and Hyde glanced away. He was going to let it go then, though he didn't really know why. He told himself it wasn't because Jackie looked so pained when he made jokes at her expense like that, but he couldn't help thinking it had something to do with it.

"So Jackie" it was Donna that spoke next, having grown bored of the TV by now, "How's it going down at the Cheese shop?" she asked, trying to be friendly.

"Yeah, y'know you must be so tired from _giving it away at the mall_" Hyde couldn't resist another jibe since it was pretty much just lying there. Jackie looked at him with sad eyes as she grabbed Michael's arm and pulled hard.

"C'mon Michael, lets go!" she urged him, but he was having none of it.

"No, you should stay" Fez enthused, "We could play Monopoly" he said with a happy smile, clapping his hands together like a small child.

"Oh, but that wouldn't be much fun since we all know that _Jackie cheats_" Hyde went in for the kill and expected an outburst from the little brunette. What he didn't expect was for her to let out a sob and bolt for the door, leaving Kelso staring after her.

"Well, that's just silly" he shook his head, laughing, "There's no need for her to get all worked up about it, we all know she cheats at every board game"

The others agreed, all looking at each other for some explanation of that little outburst, all except Hyde who knew what her problem was. He kept his eyes glued to the uninteresting TV screen, hating himself just a little bit more than he was comfortable with for what he'd done.

* * *

When the gang started actually playing Monopoly, Hyde decided he wanted out. Fez was bound to start losing and flip the board, and until then he'd have to endure Eric and Donna sniping at each other, and Kelso being annoying as usual.

Right now all he could think about was Jackie and how upset she'd been. It hadn't even occurred to her boyfriend to bother going after her, and though Donna had considered it, Eric had told her it was probably best to leave Jackie be til she calmed down - the red-head took very little persuasion.

When Hyde said he should go grab something to eat before his shift at the Fotohut no-one really batted an eye and he was soon pulling on his jacket and hurrying up the stairs with his keys in his hand. He was surprised when he came into the kitchen to find Jackie at the table with her head in her hands.

"Oh, it's you" she said, glancing up at the sound of foot steps on the hard floor, "I'm sorry, is the basement not fun enough for you when I'm not there to make a fool of?" she asked, wiping her face with the back of her hand, wishing she wasn't being so lame as to cry in front of him. Of course it was far from the first time she'd been in tears in the presence of Steven Hyde, there had been at least three times she could recall without hardly trying, but this was different. He had done this to her, made her want to sit here sobbing like a child. That particular fact hit home with both of them, and Hyde felt terribly guilty once again.

"Jackie" he sighed, getting closer to her, hesitating a little before crouching down beside her chair and putting an arm around her shoulders, "Hey, c'mon man, don't cry"

"Why do you care, Steven?" she snapped, shrugging his arm away, "I thought you wanted to hurt me, to make me feel bad? Well, I do, okay? I feel awful" she admitted, her face awash with tears a she stood up and stared up at him.

"Jackie, I wasn't..." he began, hating the fact he even cared that he'd upset her, but he did.

Maybe a couple of years ago in the beginning he'd have felt differently. When Jackie and Kelso had first started dating, Hyde really had hated her. Sure, he always knew she was hot, he wasn't blind after all, but her annoyingness far out-weighed that back then. Since she'd been hanging with the gang in the basement Jackie had changed. He'd taught her Zen once upon a time, though you wouldn't know it now, she'd even fancied herself to be in love with him and for an insane moment he'd almost felt the same. Now, he just felt so bad for having caused the mess that stood before him, this little girl's tears were all his doing, and he hated it.

"Jackie" he said awkwardly, not knowing how best to handle the situation, "Y'know if I realised you were gonna turn on the waterworks I wouldn't've said anything, okay? This is, it's just me, man, you know that"

"Not always" she shook her head sadly, "I remember you being nicer to me" she told him, "I remember when we were almost friends" she said, her voice quivering with emotion still.

Hyde remembered too, all too well, how close they'd gotten when Jackie and Kelso broke up, when he'd taught her to be Zen and she'd fallen for charms he barely knew he had. It was like she'd read his mind a few moments ago since he'd been thinking of these very things.

As she looked at him now, eyes still watering a little, all he wanted to do was make it better. Without a word he cleared the space between them in three strides and pulled her into his arms. This time she didn't shrug away or push him off, she let herself be held, wrapping her own arms around his waist as she sobbed into his chest. He brought her comfort when times were tough, he always had since ever since they started hanging out. Sure he'd hurt her today, but like he said, that was just his way. Now she had to feel guilty for kissing Todd behind Kelso's back, and one other thing. She had to feel bad for loving the way Steven's arms felt around her body, how much better this felt than when Michael held her.

_To Be Continued..._


	2. Chapter 2 : Stupid Things

**A/N : Writing for this 'verse still makes me nervous, this is only my second fic based on T7S and I really don't want it to suck. All the positive feedback is really helping, you reviewer types all rock! It is likely that this story will be updated once a week, and I'm aiming for Sunday to be the regular day. Hope that works for all of you!  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 2 - Stupid Things

Hyde wasn't quite sure how this had happened, but somehow he'd ended up with Jackie sitting next to him in the El Camino as he drove towards work. She'd stopped crying a while back and they awkwardly let go of each other in the middle of the Formans' kitchen, wondering how they let themselves end up that way in the first place, after all, she had a boyfriend who was supposed to hug her when she cried, and he had a reputation to uphold that did not involve getting snuggly with people like Jackie.

Hyde had explained he had to go to work, and asked if she was going back down to the basement. She'd shaken her head and told him no, asking if he could give her a ride out of here. She couldn't face Michael, not until she'd figured out what she was going to say to him about Todd. She was going to have to say something eventually, she knew that, or the guilt would eat her alive.

As she rushed off to the bathroom to clean up her face, Hyde had gone to the fridge to find something he could take with him for a snack. It had occurred to him he could easily steal one of Red's beers that he found there, the alcohol would surely help him to stop worrying about Jackie. Still, Red would go nuts if he noticed a beer was missing and right now Hyde knew he needed to keep a clear head. Most times when Jackie cried and he was the one to comfort her, she got ideas he had to veto as fast as possible.

So here they were, in his car, headed towards the Fotohut. They ought to have been going via Jackie's house so Hyde could drop her at home, but she'd pleaded with him to let her stay with him. After all, the house was empty right now, and all she'd do was sit around thinking about Michael and what she'd done to him. She needed company right now, something or someone to take her mind off things that were upsetting her. Seemed Hyde was her nominated distraction, much to his discomfort.

"Things between me and Michael have been weird lately" she said suddenly breaking the near silence of the car, the quiet radio in the background having been the only sound up to now, "And when Todd kissed me... I guess I just gave in because I felt vulnerable, but I made a terrible mistake" she shook her head, looking sadly down at her hands in her lap.

"Jackie" Hyde said with a sigh, "Y'know, you have to stop beating yourself up over this, man" he told her, eyes flitting from the road to her face and back, "Kelso is my friend, okay, but he's not worth it, not after what he's done to you"

"But I love him" Jackie protested, causing Hyde to roll his eyes.

"Yeah, and Kelso, he loves women" he reminded her, "And even if one of them is you, you deserve better than that. Everybody deserves better than that" he amended, realising he was making it sound like she was so much more special than everybody else. That was a path he didn't want to be taking right now, since it usually led to her vulnerable self making a move on him, and that was just wrong.

Hyde drove into the space by the Fotohut, got out of the car, and headed inside with Jackie following a step behind. Once inside the building he prepared for custom he wasn't really expecting whilst she hopped up onto the counter, kicking her feet like a kid. The noise of her heels bouncing off the wood soon aggravated Hyde and he tried to keep his anger in check as he turned to face her.

"Jackie, could you stop doing that?" he asked her, nicely as he could manage.

"Oh, sorry" she said innocently, stilling her feet. She soon hopped down from the counter and began wandering aimlessly around the shop, "It's boring here" she sighed eventually.

"Yeah, well, if you don't like it, go home" Hyde suggested as he took a seat at the counter and pulled a comic book out from under it, opening it up and beginning reading.

"You know I don't want to be alone right now" she reminded him.

"Then go bother Donna, or Mrs Forman, or whoever" he told her, getting a little annoyed, "I'm not playing baby-sitter, man, it's not me"

"What is wrong with you today?" Jackie asked him, getting mad herself by now, her arms folded across her chest as she got in his way when he tried to get up and walk away from her, "First you mess around in front of Michael, like you're going to tell him what I did, then you're all nice to me when I get upset, and now you think I'm just some stupid kid?" she rattled off, overly loudly, "I don't understand you"

"Okay first, you need to calm down" Hyde told her, "And second, I'm sorry if I'm not as simple as Kelso so you don't understand, but here it is, made real simple for you - I don't want you hanging around me" he told her firmly, turning away just as soon as he'd said it and pretending to sort out packets of photographs on the counter. Jackie stared at him for a moment, eyes starting to water all over again as she did so.

"Well you know what, Steven Hyde?" she said, her tears evident through her quivering voice, "Maybe I don't want to hang around you anyway" she said, trying for angry but barely succeeding as she turned to the door and yanked it open.

"Fine" Hyde yelled back at her, "Why don't you just run and cry to your boyfriend? Or better yet, go kiss your cheese guy!" he suggested nastily.

With a squeak of a sob, Jackie ran from the building, again in floods of tears, the door slamming shut behind her.

An angry expression crossed Hyde's face and he slammed his fist hard into the counter. God, he hated this, he hated himself, and he hated this situation. He hated Kelso for ever having cheated on Jackie before, and he hated Todd the tiny cheese guy for encouraging Jackie to cheat now. Most of all, Hyde hated that he cared at all about the little brunette that had just run out the door, but it was becoming increasingly obvious to him that those feelings he thought he'd buried once, right after their first and only date, were rearing their ugly head once again, and confusing the hell out of him.

* * *

"Hey, why do I have to pay?" Kelso complained as he, Fez, Donna, and Eric bundled into The Hub, "I totally won at Monopoly! The loser buys the burgers" he said, casting a look at Fez.

"Oh, but Kelso, because you won, you have all the money" he explained, "And the person with all the money gets the honour of buying all the food for the lowly poor loser people" he said, completely straight-faced as the others hid grins behind their hands.

"Damn, that actually makes sense" Kelso complained as he went over to the counter to order food for everyone and pay for it as instructed.

"Back in a sec" Donna giggled as she headed for the bathroom. She was surprised to find Jackie in there, standing by the sink, tear-tracks evident on her cheeks.

"Oh, hey Donna" she said, immediately she saw the red-head. Her hands went to her face in an obvious attempt to remove all evidence she had been crying, but it was too late for that.

"Jackie, what's up?" Donna asked her, looking concerned, "It's not about that stupid thing Hyde said about you cheating is it?" she checked, "Cos y'know, it's true, we all know you cheat at board games" she smiled.

"This is not about Steven Hyde" Jackie said, almost angrily, "He means nothing to me, absolutely nothing" she insisted, "I love Michael Kelso, and only Michael Kelso" she insisted, her hand gesturing to her own heart, "No other man comes close, not Steven Hyde, not my boss, not anybody" she said over-dramatically, only serving to make Donna all the more suspicious.

"Jackie, did something happen with you and Hyde?" she asked her, unsure of how best to phrase the question, after all she knew she could end up making Jackie even more upset, and surely she wasn't in love with Hyde... again!

"What are you saying, Donna?" the shorter girl asked, hands on hips and eyes flashing angrily, "Are you accusing me of cheating on Michael with Steven? Because you know I am so over him" she protested, wondering even as she said the words if it was a lie.

In all honesty, she wasn't entirely sure what the truth was right now, but it was far too late to be contemplating what might've been between her and Steven. He'd made it clear a long time ago that nothing would ever happen between them and she'd agreed with that, and after his yelling at her today, it was abundantly clear she meant very little to him.

"I'm not accusing you of cheating, Jackie" Donna shook her head, "I'm just... I'm worried about you. You're acting a little weird"

Jackie looked down at the ground and then back up at her friend.

"Oh Donna, I did cheat" she admitted tearfully, "Steven saw me at the mall, I was all upset over Michael not coming to pick me up on time and... and Todd kissed me"

"Todd?" Donna frowned, "Who's Todd?"

"My boss at the Cheese Palace" she admitted sadly, "It's crazy, I don't even like him, at least not that way, but I was feeling all emotional and abandoned and when he kissed me I might've kissed him back" she said, looking totally ashamed.

"Jackie!" her friend exclaimed, "After all those times you punished Kelso for cheating and now you go kissing the cheese guy!"

"I know, it was stupid, Donna" Jackie told her, "I know it was wrong, and I feel awful" she said, glancing away. She actually felt worse about something else, the fact her feelings for Hyde were slowly bubbling their way back to the surface.

After kissing Todd, she'd realised something, that she couldn't be happy with Kelso. If Michael were so great, she never would've cheated, and certainly not with a freak like Todd. He was a nice guy and all, but he wasn't anywhere close to her type. Not that Steven ever had been either, but even he was cooler than her boss.

"Y'know you have a choice, Jackie" Donna told her, "You can keep this from Kelso, and hope Hyde can keep a secret, even in the Circle" she said with a dubious look, "Or you can be what Kelso never was when he cheated - honest about what you did, and genuinely sorry for it too"

"I know" Jackie nodded, "I have to just admit what I did and apologise, and pray that he forgives me" she forced a smile, "He will forgive me, won't he, Donna?" she said hopefully and the red-head shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm sure he will" she said, with less confidence than she really felt.

Nevertheless, Donna supported her friend in her decision and duly told Eric and Fez they had to leave so Jackie and Kelso could talk. Neither boy looked impressed, but were not willing to argue too much when both girls glared at them. The combined wrath of Jackie and Donna was not something they wanted to face.

"What's up, baby?" Kelso asked as soon as he and his girlfriend were alone.

"Michael, I have something I have to tell you" she began her confession, as she watched her boyfriend stuffing fries into his mouth, grinning like he was about to be told he'd won the lottery or something. Instead he was about to hear a much uglier truth, and Jackie hated that she'd made such a hypocrite of herself, cheating on the man she had punished so much for committing the same crime.

Right now she just wished she was anywhere but here, preferably back in the Formans' kitchen, wrapped in the arms of Steven Hyde, being told that everything would be okay.

_To Be Continued..._


	3. Chapter 3 : Talk To Me

**A/N : Time for another update, and for a shout-out to the wonderful author that is kezztip! She's just started a new That 70s Show story and despite the fact it's likely to be not so much with the J/H, I just know it's gonna rock! Yay for all the reviews I've received, you guys are the best - thank you!  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 3 - Talk To Me

Hyde couldn't concentrate on work, not that there was much work to do and for once that was kind of the problem. Earning cash for reading comic books and watching the world go by normally suited him fine, but today he could've used the distraction of customers and actual stuff to do.

Leo had shown up about an hour after him and they'd got talking, which hadn't helped Hyde to feel any better. He hated the fact that he was getting these emotions over Jackie Burkhart, he actually felt guilty for making her cry, and worse when he realised why he'd done it. He liked her, he really, really liked her, just like she'd suspected last year, but she was so intense with it and her feelings seemed so changeable he hadn't been willing to take the risk and tell her the truth.

Now she was back with Kelso, at least she had been til the cheese guy incident. If she came clean about that, he wondered if his friend would be so quick to forgive his cheating girl as she herself had been to forgive him far worse crimes. Sometimes Michael Kelso could be such an idiot, in fact, most of the time, and Hyde was at a loss when it came to second guessing what his friend would do, especially when it came to women, and particularly Jackie.

"So, you pretty much love her, right, man?" Leo had said, when Hyde was done explaining the mess to him. He'd left out the part about he himself liking Jackie and yet it seemed pretty obvious to his boss that he felt that way.

"Love her?" Hyde scoffed, "No way, man, that's crazy talk"

"Hyde and Jackie sittin' in a tree..." Leo began singing like a five year old, a stupid grin plastered on his face.

"Why can't everybody understand that just because I don't hate Jackie anymore, does not mean I love her?" Hyde asked frustratedly.

Leo just repeated several times that it was all obvious, though Hyde could get no more details out of him than that. Leo wasn't exactly detail guy, vague was the best you could ever get, but he usually meant well. He even offered his employee the chance to take the rest of the day off, since it appeared he was going to be neither use nor ornament in his current state.

Hyde couldn't face going back to the basement right away, after all the gang would likely still be there and they'd all want to know why he was back so early. He had no explanation he was willing to give and so he decided The Hub was the place to go. He was sure once he'd got something to eat he'd feel better, and a little alone time might allow him to get a few things straight in his head before he saw Jackie or Kelso again.

It was a less than pleasant surprise for Hyde when he opened the door to the Hub, only to be very nearly bowled over by his good friend coming the other way, quite obviously upset.

"Wait, Michael!" Jackie called getting to her feet by the centre table.

Hyde realised as he glanced between his friend's back disappearing down the street, and Jackie's tear-stained face what had happened. She'd told the truth, and it hadn't gone well.

"So, I'm guessing that didn't go well?" Hyde said, with a little less tact than perhaps he should've done.

"He hates me!" Jackie sobbed as she sunk back into her seat and cried. "I didn't get a chance to explain anything, I just told him about the kiss and he stormed off. I couldn't even tell him I'm sorry!" she said sadly, desperately fighting the urge to cry again, she'd done enough of that today already.

"You know I'm not going to feel sorry for you so… you can't make me, okay?" Hyde said, semi-convincingly as he turned to leave again.

The sound of Jackie's sobbing stopped him from actually walking away, and he wasn't sure if he was more mad at her for making him need to stay or at himself for letting her get to him so easily.

"C'mon, Jackie" he said awkwardly, putting a hand on her arm, "Stop crying, man, he's not worth all this"

"I just love him so much" she cried.

Hyde looked up to the ceiling, hating how much it hurt to hear her talk that way. At one time it was him she was professing love for, and though he hadn't so much welcomed those feelings back then, it still stung to know Jackie might be over him so easily. It was as if her affection for him was a bout of temporary insanity, an illness from which she had recovered, and normal service had been resumed as she fell back in deep love with Kelso.

It seemed clear to Hyde now that the only thing he could really do right now was help Jackie get back together with her precious Michael, after all, that seemed to be the only thing that was going to make her happy. Surely it couldn't be that hard to convince Kelso he was idiot not to forgive his girlfriend such a minor indiscretion.

"Okay look, Jackie, it was just one kiss, right?" he said as she sniffed, and nodded her head, "That's not so bad, man" he assured her, "Just tell Kelso what you told me. Y'know, how you felt all vulnerable and stuff"

"He doesn't even wanna see me!" she complained and Hyde let out a sigh.

"Then dammit, Jackie, make him see you" he told her, getting a little angry at her little girl lost routine, she was normally stronger than this, "God, where is the persistent woman who wouldn't leave me alone even when I pretty much told her to take a long walk off a short cliff?" he asked her, "If you really want Kelso back then you wouldn't take no for an answer, you wouldn't just let him walk away from you" her reminded her, "The Jackie Burkhart we know and... occasionally like" he said with consideration, "She wouldn't just lie down and take this"

"She wouldn't" Jackie agreed half-heartedly, though she didn't feel as strong as Hyde was making her out to be.

"That's right, man" he said firmly, "Kelso did way worse cheating than you, and you always took him back. If he can't accept that you had one weak moment, one little kiss with some random guy, then he's not worth your time"

"You're right, Steven" she said suddenly feeling better after his little pep talk.

She never knew someone getting mad at her could make her feel so much stronger, but he really had helped.

"I get that a lot" he smirked, just glad to see her smiling again.

When she cried he couldn't stand it, even back when he'd professed to hate her, her tears always got to him, so much so he'd once ended up in a prom tux for this girl. It made him wonder if perhaps the torch he carried for her had started burning long before even he himself was aware of it...

"I need to find Michael, right now" Jackie said suddenly, wiping her face with her hands and scrambling to her feet.

"He's probably back at the basement by now" Hyde told her, "Kelso doesn't like to be alone when he's sad"

"You're right... again" she smiled at him, before walking around the table and leaning down to plant a kiss on his cheek, "Thank you, Steven" she said solemnly, "You really helped me a lot today. You probably don't even realise how much" she said before turning towards the door and leaving.

Hyde stared after, feeling a little bemused.

"Anything for you, doll" he said to the empty space where she had been a moment ago, "Anything at all"

* * *

"I mean, can you believe it?!" Kelso exclaimed as he sat in the Circle with Eric, Donna, and Fez, "Jackie cheated on me with the cheese guy!"

"I cannot believe it myself" Fez shook his head, "If Jackie wanted to cheat on you, you would think she would look a little closer to the basement..." he said with a look that conveyed his meaning, though honestly nobody paid all that much attention.

"C'mon Kelso, you said it was just one kiss" Donna fought on the side of her fellow female as was her way, "You slept with Laurie, and Pam Macy, and lots of girls before, and Jackie always took you back!"

"That is true" Eric said seriously, before bursting into hysterics, "I still can't believe Jackie was so desperate to cheat she kissed the skinny little cheese guy!" he laughed loudly, "Although seriously" he suddenly snapped out of his giggles, "there is nothing wrong with skinny guys" he defended his kind, though Kelso was not listening as he focused on what Donna had said.

"Yeah, but I cheated out of joy" he told her, "and Jackie cheated out of hate!" he protested.

"That is so stupid!" Donna yelled back at him, "And you're stupid! All men are stupid!" she said firmly before smiling like an idiot, "Except Casey" she said, almost blushing as she thought about the man she was currently dating. It was weird to think he was Kelso's brother, he was such a dreamboat in comparison to the doofus who now sat to her left, shoving animal crackers in his mouth like it was going out if style.

"Hey, some women are stupid too!" Eric told her firmly, "Like women who get promise rings and wear them around their neck! Talk about your stupid stuff!" he said with a meaningful look, as Donna punched him hard in the arm for bringing up that particular episode again.

"I like stupid women" Fez said thoughtfully, "They let you do things that smart women do not" he sighed, "But I also like smart women, like Velma from the Scooby Doo cartoons. Oh, she is so smart, and in her orange sweater... she give some the naughty feelings" he admitted.

"I used to give Jackie naughty feelings" Kelso said suddenly, spraying the rest of the circle with cracker crumbs, "Now she gets her rocks off with random guys in cheese shops!" he yelled, getting worked up once again, "Y'know, he's lucky he's a little fella, cause I'd kick his ass. Boom!" he declared, punching air, "Right in the ass!"

"Oh my God, you should so do that!" Eric agreed, "Cause y'know if Princess Leia ever kissed Darth Vader at the inter-galactic cheese shop, Luke Skywalker would so kick some Vader ass!"

"Vader-ass" Donna giggled, finding more humour in the situation than perhaps she might've in normal circumstance, when Eric's continual Star Wars references often annoyed her.

"That's it!" Kelso announced throwing his bag of crackers to the floor as he got up suddenly and headed for the door, "That cheese puff is gonna get a lightsabre so far up his..." the final words were obscured by the door slamming behind him.

The others waited a few moments before hurrying after their friend, Fez pausing just long enough to rescue Kelso's fallen bag of animal crackers, after all it was a long trip to the mall, and he was already hungry.

* * *

Jackie felt sick as she sat on the couch in the Forman basement, waiting for Michael to show up. She was sure he would, after all Hyde was right in what he said, Kelso never liked to be alone when he was sad, no matter what that sadness was about.

It made her mad as she thought over the whole conversation she and Steven had at The Hub. Not that she was mad at him, no, she was very grateful for his help. He'd made a few things seem a whole lot clearer than they had before, about Michael, and some other stuff too. She was mad at herself for letting her boyfriend treat her so badly before, and she was mad at him for thinking he had the right to punish her for one little kiss when she'd forgiven him far worse in the past, and more than once.

Now she knew what she had to do to solve this. There were ways to get Michael Kelso back if she wanted him, but there were also other options to consider too...

Jackie jumped up from the couch as the door opened and in came her boyfriend with an eye that was rapidly bruising. Eric, Donna, and Fez followed on behind, all trying to stifle smiles it seemed.

"Michael what happened to you?" she asked, sounding overly concerned.

"He got beat up" Donna said, clearly fighting a fit of the giggles, "By the little dude at the cheese shop" she explained, hiding behind Eric as she burst out laughing and Kelso glared at her.

"You got in a fight with Todd?" Jackie checked, looking less than impressed now as she folded her arms across her chest, "Don't you remember me telling you he was a black belt?" she said, with a look that Michael didn't like much. She was mad at him, and that was never good, but honestly, he didn't see she had the right to be.

"Alright, look, Jackie, here's the deal" he said, pointing a finger at her, "You cheated on me"

"Yes, I did" she admitted honestly, "but you used to cheat on me all the time"

"Well..." Kelso considered it for a moment before he continued, "yeah, but you..."

"No, Michael" she cut him off, putting a hand up to silence him, as the others watched the altercation with interest, "I don't want to hear any excuses" she sighed, so tired of all this running in circles, "I know what I did was wrong, and I am sorry, but you should've understood. You've paid me less and less attention for weeks now. I gave up my money for the sake of our love, and you can't even give up a little time" she told him, as he began to look a little ashamed of himself, "When you cheated on me, with Pam Macy, and Laurie, and all those other girls, I always found a way to forgive you" she reminded him, "And I had one weak moment, I kissed Todd just once, and you wouldn't even stay in the room long enough to let me apologise" she said, tears forming to her eyes once again. She forced them back, she would not be weak now, she would be that strong young woman that Hyde seemed to respect. She liked that girl better than the pushover she seemed to let herself be where Michael Kelso was concerned - not anymore.

"I'm sorry, Jackie" Kelso said quietly, "Look, I can probably find a way to forgive you, maybe, if..."  
"No, Michael" she interrupted him again, he'd had his turn to speak too many times over, this was her chance, "I don't want you to forgive me, I don't need you to, because I already forgave myself" she shrugged, "I did a bad thing, I know that, but at least it taught me something" she explained, "Michael, I don't think we should be together anymore" she said, forcing down the lump that rose in her throat. No matter how right she knew this was, it still upset her to think she and Michael were really over this time, that they'd never see those wedding plans and happily ever after dreams come true.

As Kelso stared down at Jackie in sadness and disbelief, their friends silently slipped back out the door, leaving the broken couple alone.

"Jackie, we can figure this out" he told her, looking truly lost. She shook her head.

"No, Michael" she told him sadly, "We tried, too many times. We can't love each other like we think we do, if we did we couldn't treat each other the way we do" she explained, sounding much wiser than her years right now, and thinking vaguely that Steven would probably be quite proud of her if he could hear her right now, at least she hoped he would be.

Before Kelso had a chance to try to change her mind or make her feel her decision was the wrong one, the young Miss Burkhart gathered herself up and headed to the basement stairs, walking up into the house and out. She ignored Michael when he called her name behind her. She had to keep walking, with her head held high. This might be the best choice she'd ever made in her life, at least she hoped it was.

_To Be Continued..._


	4. Chapter 4 : Deja Vu

**A/N : Another Sunday, another new chapter, and hopefully another bunch of supportive reviews?  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 4 - Deja Vu

"Is it safe to come back in here now?" Eric asked as he opened the back door to the basement and stuck his head in.

"What are you talking about, Forman?" Hyde frowned as he looked over from where he sat in his usual chair, his feet propped up on the table and his arms folded across his chest. He'd been sitting there for about an hour, watching TV without really seeing it, his mind wandering to Jackie way too many times for his liking.

"We had to leave because Jackie and Kelso were here" Donna explained as she followed Eric into the basement, and Fez followed her.

"Yeah, there was yelling and tears" Eric explained, "And that was just Kelso"

"But they got back together right?" Hyde checked, finding it strange that the two were fighting, after all, when Jackie had left him at The Hub it had seemed like she wanted to make her peace with Kelso, convince him to forgive her and get back together. Surely even Kelso wasn't so stupid he wouldn't forgive her for her minor indiscretion, especially not when he'd done much worse in the past.

"Oh I hope it is not true" Fez said, sounding disappointed, "I do not want Jackie to get back together with Kelso" he admitted, "It is my turn now!"

"Er, Fez" Eric frowned, "Don't you, and I mean this very literally, kind of have your hands full with Big Rhonda?"

"I am a young, virile man, Eric" Fez snapped at him, "I have needs that are too great for merely one woman" he explained, "And how dare you insult my precious Rhonda that way. Good day to you!" he said as he went for the door.

"Wait, Fez..." Donna tried to stop him but he wasn't interested.

"I said good day!" he said firmly, slamming the door behind him as he left the basement in a foul mood.

"Did somebody put something in the water today?" Hyde complained, "Geez, it's all hissy fits and slamming doors. It's like being back home"

"Well then I promise to treat the door with some respect and close it quietly as I leave for my date with Casey" Donna smiled before doing just that, telling the guys she'd see them tomorrow.

Eric climbed over the back of the couch to sit down, and looked at the TV.

"Er, Hyde?" he said, with a strange look at his friend, "Why are you watching... whatever the hell this is?" he asked, quite bemused to see a group of old people eating fish on the television screen.

"I'm not" his friend said quickly, getting to his feet and heading into his room at the back of the basement. Eric was frowning as he got up and followed.

"Hey, are you okay, man?" he checked, "You seem a little moody, even for you"

"I'm fine, Forman" Hyde snapped, as he sat down on the end of his bed, not happy to have his friend following him around, "Seriously, man, if I wanted to be nagged this much I'd get a girlfriend" he said frustratedly.

Eric opened his mouth to answer but was prevented from doing so as his mother made her way down the basement steps, calling to him to come try on some possible shirts for the class pictures which were to be taken tomorrow.

Hyde was glad when he was finally left alone, at least he was glad not to face Forman asking him dumb questions and rambling in his ear. He was less glad of the silence that now deafened him.

Whilst alone he had more time to think, and thinking was leading to no good of late. Telling Forman nothing was wrong had been a lie, there was something seriously wrong, but he'd learnt a long time ago that hiding behind his well practised Zen was better than talking about feelings and emotions.

Opening up, showing your vulnerable side, it only led to people taking advantage or thinking you were weak. That was exactly what he'd tried to stop happening to Jackie. She made it too easy for Kelso to cheat on her by letting him back in every time. She was so strong about everything else, but where her precious Michael was concerned she just let down all her defences. He hated to think they were back together again now. Okay, so this time she'd kind of cheated on him, but it was such a minor thing, and besides, it'd only happened because Kelso was being an ass. He may not have been cheating with another woman right now, but he'd pretty much made cheating his career. He was living Jackie's own dream, and on top of that was ignoring her in the process. There was no way he deserved someone like her, not that Hyde thought for a second that he did either. He'd never had a serious girlfriend, he didn't feel he needed one and, his messed up feelings for Donna a while back not withstanding, he never really wanted one. Now he was having some serious thoughts about Jackie that he'd like to ignore, but it was increasingly difficult to block them out as he lay on his bed with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling as nothing but silence surrounded him.

"I gotta get out of here" Hyde told himself, deciding he seriously needed company, someone to talk to, only not Forman, he was too full of dumbass questions.

He was thinking maybe he'd go find Fez. The foreign boy would be over his little mood by now and the pair of them could go grab some food at the Hub and then go cruising for chicks or something.

Hyde was smiling to himself as he decided on his plan of action for the evening, at least until he opened the door that led out of the basement.

"Jackie?" he was surprised to find her sitting half way up the staircase, her face streaked with tears and her hair all a mess where she'd randomly pushed it off her face too many times.

"Oh, Steven" she cried, practically launching herself into his arms from the step.

He caught her easily and held her as she sobbed.

"What's up, man?" he asked her with a frown, "Didn't you and Kelso kiss and make up already?"

"No" she admitted, her face buried in his chest so her words were muffled at best, "I did a stupid thing"

"Are we talking about the cheese guy again?" Hyde checked, "Cos y'know, Jackie, we all make stupid mistakes, and it was just a kiss..."  
"I don't mean that" she shook her head, pulling away from him a little, her red-rimmed eyes flitting up to meet his as he held her still, "I... Can we go some place and talk?" she asked and Hyde hardly had to consider his answer as he immediately nodded.

Slipping his hand around hers, he led her up the steps and to his car. He didn't know exactly where they were going, but he still needed to not be here right now and it seemed Jackie felt the same. They'd go somewhere and talk if that's what she wanted. As much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, he'd do absolutely anything she asked of him, anything at all.

* * *

"Mom, please!" Eric complained as Kitty pushed the magnifying glass closer to his face and squinted through it, "Mom! I do not have any zits!" he assured her, but his mother was undeterred from her task.

"Well, Eric, honey, you never know when those little things are just gonna flare up" she told him, putting the magnifying glass down on the kitchen counter at last, "And I would like you to have one year book picture without the focus being a zit. Now is that too much for a mother to ask? Is it?" she asked him, almost sounding a little crazy.

Eric found it easier to just agree with her, as she handed him some cash and a list of various products she wanted him to buy from the drugstore that should ensure he did not develop any kind of blemish on his face for the next twenty-four hours. He was then despatched to go fetch the lotions and potions she'd recommended whilst she started on making dinner.

It was as he passed through the kitchen door and went out onto the driveway to his car, Eric spotted the back end of Hyde's El Camino headed around the corner. He could make out two figures in the front of the vehicle, and the passenger looked decidedly like a girl.

Eric shook his head as he climbed into the Vista Cruiser. Hyde was all messed up over a girl? Man, that was why he didn't want to talk. Now Eric understood, his friend always thought he knew it all about women, when clearly he must be having some problems with whichever girl was currently in his life. It ought to hurt to know one of his best friends couldn't talk to him about this stuff, but Eric knew Steven Hyde well enough to know he didn't talk about feelings and emotions, he was all Zen and stuff, and everybody knew you didn't mess with that.

* * *

Jackie hadn't really been aware of the route she and Hyde were travelling, she was just glad to be away from home and the basement, and all the places that reminded her how alone she was right now, and how lacking in the boyfriend department too.

She knew dumping Michael for good was the right desicion, she knew in the long run she'd be glad she did it, but right now it was painful and raw. His past betrayals and her own current indiscretion took turns to do laps in her head, and each one hurt a-fresh each time. She felt so dumb for having put up with Michael's cheating for so long, and yet she was still kind of ashamed of herself for letting anything at all happen with Todd. She needed someone to talk to about all of this and her first port of call had been Steven. Somehow it always had been, though she'd never quite known why. She figured he always seemed like the grown-up of the group, despite being all anti-establishment and the most in favour of certain circular habits. He always seemed to know the answer to stuff, the best thing to say or do. He was smart on a different level to other intelligent people Jackie knew, and he could be so nice when he wanted to be. Most of the time she just figured he didn't want to be nice to people, but when his background was considered, it was hardly surprising. It had occurred to Jackie a long time ago that Hyde was most likely blunt and a little nasty to people because for most of his life that's all he'd got from anybody else, his parents included.

As the car came to a halt, she glanced his way and caught Hyde smirking.

"What?" she asked, wondering where the humour in this situation was.

She couldn't imagine he found her sadness so amusing, that would be too cruel.

"You recognise this place?" he checked as he got out of the car, and Jackie frowned as she followed suit.

"No, I..." she started, only to realise as she gland around at the dimly lit area that yes, she really did recognise it. They'd been here before, herself and Steven, on their one and only date, "Huh" was all she could find to say as they glanced awkwardly at each other.

"Honestly, I have no idea how we ended up here" he assured her, and it was the honest truth.

He'd just started driving, looking around for a quiet spot and suddenly, here they were, back where they'd been before some months ago now, back where she'd given him the big speech about being worthy of love and so forth, before he finally relented and let their little trip be a real date. They'd kissed that night, for the first and only time, both denying any feelings right after. Whether she'd lied or not, he couldn't be entirely certain, because he'd been too busy making sure his real feelings didn't show, just like always.

"So" he said suddenly as he pulled himself up to sit on the front of the car, "You wanted to talk" he reminded Jackie, who nodded in agreement and pulled herself up beside him.

"I told Michael that I was sorry" she admitted, "and then, that we had to be over"

Her words stunned Hyde who was so sure up to this point that Point Place's answer to Joanie and Chachi were bound to be back together by now. It seemed he'd been very wrong in his assumption, and that was not something he was used to.

"Wow" he said, glancing over at her, "So what's stupid about that?" he checked.

"Well, nothing... and everything" Jackie said sadly, "Now I don't have a boyfriend, which is fine really, cos y'know it's the seventies and Donna is always telling me how women don't need men to define them"

"She's right, man" Hyde agreed, "Nobody needs somebody else to make them a whole person. You're cool all by yourself"

"But I'm not" she disagreed, "It's different for you, Steven" she told him, "You're all Zen and cool and you don't care that you're alone in the world" Jackie explained with her usual lack of tact, "But me, I need someone to be there for me. I need Michael" she whined like a little girl, which annoyed Hyde to no end. She was capable of being a strong and confident young woman, and yet once in a while she chose to be a whiny little baby - he hated that!

"No you don't!" he snapped at her, making her physically jump and pay attention to him, "You do not need Kelso, Jackie, you're better off without him. You have to know that, why else would you dump him?"

"I know!" she yelled back, waving her arms emphatically like a malfunctioning windmill, "I know it was right to dump Michael but... now I feel so alone" she said, her voice dropping from the loud abrasive tone that Hyde despised to the soft little girl he hated himself for wanting to take care of. As much as he wanted her to be strong for herself, he knew she couldn't just do it, she needed his help, just like he'd helped her before by teaching her to be Zen like him.

"You're not alone, Jackie" he told her, putting a hand to her hair, and pushing it back over her shoulder, "You're never alone" he told her, his eyes conveying much more than his words did Jackie realised since he wasn't wearing the glasses he usually hid behind. He meant he'd be there for her, she was sure of it, and she loved to know it could be true.

Somehow they'd ended up quite close together on the hood of the car, and his fingers were still in her hair.

"Steven..." she whispered as his hand slid behind her head and they both leaned in closer till their lips met.

Neither were sure how this had happened or even why, but it felt strangely familiar and overwhelmingly good for the few seconds that the kiss lasted. When they parted they both looked a little astonished that this had happened, and that they'd felt as much as they had.

"Uh, yeah" Hyde said, backing away fast, "I should really be getting you home, it's getting late" he said quickly, hopping down from the front of the car and urging Jackie to do the same.

"Okay" she said absently, her hand going to her lips just briefly before she got into the car beside him.

This couldn't be happening again, those feeling she'd thought she had but convinced herself weren't real, they couldn't really be back, could they? She glanced across at Steven who had his eyes firmly on the road as he drove towards her house as fast as the speed limits allowed.

Inside he was panicking too, though Jackie didn't suspect at all, and that was how he wanted it to stay.

_To Be Continued..._


	5. Chapter 5 : Class Picture

**A/N : As I'm sure you've guessed, the Jackie/Hyde relationship in this fic is going to be far from simple...  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc.- see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 5 - Class Picture

"Relax, everybody" Eric announced with a grin as he came back into the class room, "Approximately thirty minutes to go, and still zit free. I'm gonna make it!" he said, punching the air triumphantly. Unfortunately nobody looked overly impressed.

"That's great, Eric" Donna said flatly, "but right now we're a little more worried about Kelso than your face" she pointed out.

"Is he still not here?" her ex-boyfriend frowned, "Man, it's not like Kelso to miss out on getting his picture taken"

"This is true" Fez nodded, "One day when Mrs Forman was trying to take pictures of us all, Kelso actually trod on my foot and pushed me down so he got in more pictures than me" he complained, "and I was extra cute that day too"

"Don't feel bad, Fez" Jackie sympathised, "Michael always had to be the centre of attention in any picture. Honestly, I'm just glad that now I dumped him I don't have to worry about my wedding pictures not having me in them!" she explained, managing to look at every person in the group that she was talking to expect for Hyde.

Things were very awkward between them suddenly. That kiss last night was a shock to the both of them, though neither realised the other was quite as stunned by it as they were. They really hadn't spoken as he drove her home last night, just said goodnight when she got out of the car, a quick thanks and that was it.

Thankfully, so far this morning they'd not been alone together to have to talk about anything, Fez had arrived first, followed by Jackie, then Eric, Donna, and Hyde all together. It was weird that Kelso still wasn't here, nobody could imagine that even his break-up with Jackie would prevent him getting in front of a camera, he loved himself too much to miss this.

"Hey guys" he grinned as he strode into the room at last, catching everyone's attention. Nobody in the room didn't feel like bursting out laughing when they caught sight of his face, but all at least had the good grace to attempt to bite their lip.

"Kelso, man, what the hell happened to your face?" Hyde sniggered as he looked at the boy that had a quite obvious black eye, painted over with several layers of various coloured make-up. Clearly he'd tried to cover the bruising Todd had inflicted so as not to spoil his class picture, but he'd only served to make himself look worse.

"Yeah, well, what happened to yours?" Kelso shot back lamely as everybody tried to hide grins and giggles, all except Jackie who had sobered up considerably when Michael got a little mad. After all she was the one who'd caused all this. Her kissing Todd had led to Michael attempting to fight him, and thus the badly covered black eye was evident.

"Seriously, who knew the tiny cheese guy was a black belt?" Donna giggled, finding the whole thing hilarious. Unsurprising really since her friend was currently wearing way more make-up than she was!

"Jackie did!" Kelso yelled, pointing to his ex-girlfriend, "And she could've warned me"

"Michael, I did tell you about Todd" she protested tiredly, "You just didn't pay any attention, and besides I didn't know you were going to go around hitting guys I work with!"

"Yeah, well, I didn't know you were gonna go around kissing any guy with lips!" he shot back at her.

Jackie was less than thrilled by that remark and the uneasy look that passed between herself and Steven didn't help, after all, Todd wasn't the only guy she'd kissed in the past couple of days. With guilt, confusion, and a few other mixed emotions running through her, Jackie got up fast and exited the room. The remaining friends all looked at each other, wondering what they were supposed to do now.

"Donna, maybe you should go after her" Eric suggested, since she was the only other girl available and the pair of them seemed to get along a lot better these days.

"What? Why?" she asked with apparent distaste, "I don't know what to say to her"

"I could go and _comfort_ her" Fez said with a look, but just as soon as he stood up, Hyde's arm knocked him back into his chair.

"I'll go" he said firmly, striding out of the classroom.

"Since when does Hyde comfort Jackie?" Eric asked with a frown, sharing a look with Donna.

Across the room, Kelso had barely noticed what was happening as he borrowed a compact mirror from one of the girls and was checking his make-up.

* * *

"Hey, Jackie, wait up!" Hyde called as he jogged down the hall behind her.

"Why, Steven?" she yelled back over her shoulder as she continued to stride away, "So I can feel worse than I already do?" she asked as she reached the wall and realised she had nowhere to go. One way was the boys bathroom, the other was the janitors closet. She had to face Steven now and talk to him, something she'd been purposefully avoiding since yesterday.

"You have nothing to feel bad for, man" he told her, hating to hear her talk that way, "We talked about this last night" he reminded her, "You did the right thing dumping Kelso, besides I saw that thing that happened with the cheese guy, it was barely even a kiss" he dismissed it as nothing, though Jackie knew it hadn't been.

If anything, her clinch with Todd had been the need for any kind of attention or comfort. That meant it was something, though nothing like what Michael had presumed. Her kiss with Steven on the other hand, that had made her feel something, perhaps more this time than the last.

"Y'know what, it doesn't matter" Jackie said, looking anywhere but at him as she took a deep breath, "I'm so sick of crying. I have to be stronger than this, and I can be" she said with determination.

Hyde smiled at that, his hand going to her shoulder.

"Sure you can" he encouraged her as she glanced his way and their eyes met, "You're Jackie Burkhart, strongest, stubbornest, possibly most annoying, little woman I know" he said with a smirk and she smiled at the mild insult that she was certain was meant more as a joke than anything else.

Gone were the days when they deliberately tried to hurt each other with random barbs and cheap burns. Somewhere along the line their general dislike for each other had changed into respect and caring. She'd always turned to him in times of crisis, he'd never let her down, that hadn't changed.

"It would be so much easier if I didn't love Michael so much" she sighed and Hyde felt a strange stab of jealousy inside. He should have realised that despite her dumping him, Jackie was still bound to have feelings for Kelso, after all he was her first real boyfriend and everything. Still, the pain he felt at her admission was quite a shock. He really did care about her a lot, and Hyde was sure if he hadn't been so emotionally damaged over the years, the word love would be springing easily to mind right now.

"Look, Jackie" he sighed, "I know you're hurting right now, but you'll come through this, man, and you'll probably even be stronger for it" he told her.

"Maybe" she agreed, sniffing a little, "but what do I do til I get over it?" she wanted to know, "How am I supposed to be around Michael and not end up fighting with him, or feeling so bad?"

"It's like I told you before" Hyde reminded her, "You gotta be cool, aloof, Zen, remember?"

Jackie nodded that she did remember, how could she not recall the last time she'd run to Steven for comfort and help when she'd found out about Michael cheating on her with Eric's slutty sister, Laurie. He'd taught her how to act to annoy the skank intensely, by being cool and rising above it all. His helping her then had led to Jackie believing she was in love with Steven Hyde, and whilst she had denied it later, deep down she knew a flame still burned within her for this guy who was always there for her somehow.

"I guess we should head back in there" he suggested, looking back down the hall, hearing distant laughter from the class room where they had left their friend.

"That's cool" she responded with a smile that was mostly genuine. Hyde smirked at her words, as he slung his arm across her shoulders and walked her back down the hall. Jackie's smile by now was most definitely not fake, and she wasn't half so worried about facing Michael again, not so long as Steven was by her side. He was right, she was strong enough to deal with this, but it helped to have him there too.

"Hey, Jackie, you okay?" Donna checked as her friends reappeared.

"Yeah, I'm... cool" she assured the red-head with a smile, glancing at Hyde who seemed proud of her right now.

Okay, so his arm had slipped from her shoulders right before they reached the door, and she was fairly certain it was deliberate so nobody asked any awkward questions, but it didn't matter. She knew he'd done it, she knew how nice he'd been to her, just like she knew about their kiss last night that so far neither of them had mentioned.

"Are we still waiting around for these damn pictures, man?" Hyde complained as he took a seat and Jackie pulled herself up to sit on the desk beside him.

"We were trying to think of a good yearbook quote while we wait" Fez explained, "But all these idiots want to do is talk about memories that I am not in!" he complained.

"We were just thinking about how we all met" Eric rolled his eyes, "It's not our fault you weren't here, man"

"Yeah, but we got a good story about Eric and Hyde out of you" Donna reminded him with a laugh, as her friend glared through his tinted glasses at the boy who had shared the nor tale he'd warned him never to on pain of death.

"Hey, it slipped out" Eric said a little nervously, holding up his hands in surrender. He was pleasantly surprised when Hyde shrugged, muttering 'whatever' as the conversation moved on.

"Yes, slipped out like Donna's chest" Fez giggled, going on to explain how he had first met the red-head.

It wouldn't be so bad if he hadn't already told the story five minutes ago, thus leading to Kelso walking out when he was reminded he was the only one amongst the guys not to have seen Donna topless.

Jackie for one was grateful that her ex was gone. She could handle being around him soon, but a couple of days out of his company would be helpful. She was only half listening as Donna recounted how the two of them had first met, until Steven's name came up.

"And that's how me and Hyde met Jackie" the red-head concluded.

Jackie glanced at Steven who met her gaze and shook his head so slightly it was almost unnoticable but Jackie understood and didn't say a word. They both knew they'd met long before the day Donna spoke of, but that was just another on the ever-growing list of secrets that they shared.

_To Be Continued..._

**Note : The first meeting of Jackie & Hyde that they remember here can be seen in my previous one-shot fic 'Jackie's Halloween Hero'. It fitted to have these two stories tie together :-)**


	6. Chapter 6 : The Odd Couple

**A/N : Huge apologies for not posting this last night! The chapter was done but it went clean out of my head to post the update! At least I remembered today and found time to do this!  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 6 - The Odd Couple

"So, basically, that kiss meant nothing" Jackie explained to Todd, "but I do like you, as my boss, and I really, really want to keep my job, okay?"

"Oh, well, of course" her boss forced a smile, "but if you ever need further comfort in any way, you let me know, my sweet princess" he said, before disappearing through the store room door.

"My sweet princess?" Hyde echoed as he appeared behind Jackie, making her jump, "That's just gross" he said with a distasteful look, and she rolled her eyes as she faced him.

"He's just being nice to me" she told the young man who somehow had become like her best friend the past few days, "So long as he lets me keep my job, and keeps his lips to himself, it's cool"

"I still can't believe that little guy beat up Kelso so bad, man" Hyde chuckled, "He's skinnier than Forman!"

"Obviously it's not all about looks with everybody" Jackie pointed out as she arranged cheese samples on a tray and looked over the counter at him, "I mean, look at you, you look all scruffy and kinda badass, but you're actually kind of, well, y'know..."

"I do know, but it'll probably be funnier if I make you say it" he smirked as he leant on the counter in front of her.

"I just meant, well, you can be... nice sometimes, sweet even" she admitted, wondering why she felt so weird saying that, after all it was true, and usually she had no trouble at all saying anything she thought or felt. Lately, however, when it came to Steven Hyde, she felt strangely awkward saying certain things. It seemed to be mostly since she broke up with Michael, and moreover when she and Steven had kissed that night on the hood of his car, right on the same spot where they'd been the last time.

Two kisses now, a couple of comforting hugs, and several meaningful looks. It didn't seem like much, but it had come as a bit of a shock to Jackie. She'd thought a long time ago she'd gotten over Steven Hyde. After all, surely her little obsession with him had been a simple rebound anyway after her spilt from Michael before. Maybe that's all this was too, but she doubted it. She wouldn't have been kissing Todd if she were happy with Michael, and Steven had nothing to do with that. He'd become her friend and confidante after that particular event, though she doubted he understood it anymore than she did.

"Hey, you're not gonna start getting psycho on me again, right?" he checked as he looked over the counter at her, "Cos we had a deal, grasshopper" he reminded her.

"Like I would ever stoop so low as to want to date you" Jackie scoffed, though her seemingly harsh words were no more than a friendly jibe, and Hyde knew it too.

"You say the sweetest things, doll" he laughed as he got out of her way and she came around the counter with her tray of samples, walking out amongst the patrons of the mall to do her work.

Hyde leant his back against he counter, folding his arms across his chest as he watched the girl do what she was paid for. She was kind of amazing, and had come a long way since he first met her.

Most of her more annoying qualities had faded, and he liked her a whole lot better now than he had before. Some of that he put down to her growing up, some his own teaching, but mostly he thought life had changed her into the young woman he stood staring at now. Kelso's cheating, her parents lack of interest, her friendships with Donna and the gang, these were the things that had turned a simple rich bitch brat into the new and improved Jackie Burkhart that Hyde could bear to spend time with, in fact he even found he craved her company these past couple of days, not that it meant he wanted to go back on that deal they'd made, not a chance, they'd made that pact for good reasons and it still stood.

It was after the class pictures had been taken and the group headed back to the basement. Kelso hadn't been sure if he should go since Jackie was, and an awkward silence had descended over the group. There were arguments for and against either or both of the two hanging out with the rest of the gang, but in the end Jackie had decided it might be best if she headed home anyway, as she wasn't really in the mood for mixed company right now.

Nobody had said a word when Hyde offered to walk her home. They'd all noticed the pair getting close again lately, but dare not say a word about it after the last time. Still, Hyde was sure they had a good discussion about it behind his back. Like most things, it didn't bother him at all.

They'd got to Jackie's door, and she'd offered Steven to come inside for a while. The way she looked at him caused an internal argument that took several moments to work out. Half of him wanted to say yes, wanted to spend more time with her, get closer to her, see what would happen if they kissed again. The other half, the part of him that most of his brain actually controlled, said it was a bad idea to get close to Jackie. Falling in love would be a disaster, one more person to care about, was just one more person that could leave him when he needed them most. Hyde couldn't afford to have that happen, no way.

"Steven?" she'd tried to get his attention when he was quiet too long and shaking his head to come back to reality, Hyde had looked her right in the eye and answered her.

"Jackie, we have to make a deal" he'd told her firmly, "Cos I admit, I don't hate you, but this is not... I'm not a replacement for Kelso, you got that?" he'd snapped and Jackie had looked at him strangely.

"Of course you're not a Michael replacement" she had agreed easily, "You two are so different, it's like... you're so much smarter, and funnier, and more grown up, and..."

"Jackie, stop it!" Hyde had said a little more angrily than he really meant to as he removed his glasses and looked heavenward, "This is what I don't want, okay?" he'd explained, "Look, the deal is we can be, y'know, like friends or whatever, but that's it, man, nothing more"

She'd looked at him then, a strange expression on her face he couldn't quite make out. Somewhere between disappointment and shock, though he wasn't entirely certain and he hadn't gotten a chance to figure it out before she was smiling again.

"Obviously" she'd rolled her eyes, like what he'd said was so damn obvious she didn't even know why he'd bothered, "Goodnight, Steven" she'd said then, reaching up to plant a quick kiss on her cheek, before disappearing into the house. Hyde had watched her go, feeling partly relieved, and partly hurt that she didn't make a bigger deal about all this.

Now as he stood here in the mall, watching the cheese maiden go about her business, he still wasn't sure how he really felt, at least not until she turned around and spotted him watching her. She smiled that bright, genuine smile that almost dazzled him every time, even through his darkened glasses, and Steven Hyde knew that despite the deal they'd made, despite the Zen he'd learn to hide behind, despite everything, Jackie Burkhart would be the ruin of him one day, he just couldn't help but let it happen.

* * *

"Oh, well, there you are, Eric" Kitty smiled as her son appeared from the basement, "And about time to, dinner's almost ready" she told him as he dutifully washed his hands and took a seat at the table, opposite his father.

"Don't tell me Steven is still in the basement?" Red asked with a look, "That kid is always hungry, he never misses a meal. Between the two of you I'm surprised we ever have any food in the house"

"Now, Red" Kitty admonished, "They're growing boys, they need a hearty meal every day" she smiled, as she finished putting the food on the table, "Honey, do you want to call down to Steven and tell him to hurry up for dinner?" she asked her son who shook his head.

"I would, Mom, but Hyde's not in the basement" he explained, "He hasn't been around much lately, he's spending time with... Jackie" he admitted, with an involuntary shudder.

It still baffled him why his friend would want to be getting close to Kelso's ex. They always hated each other before, the glitch on Veteran's Day not withstanding.

"Steven and Jackie?" Kitty frowned slightly as she took her seat at the dinner table, "But I thought she and Michael were going steady?" she said, "Goodness me, you kids switch partners more often than square dancers!" she laughed her trademark high-pitched laugh, and Eric rolled his eyes.

"Jackie cheated on Kelso" he told his parents, "He was going to forgive her but she didn't want him to, and now she's set her sights on Hyde again. She's just, she's messing with the harmony of the group. Little Yoko tramp" he muttered to himself, though Red still heard him and was not amused.

"Eric, not in front of your mother!" he snapped, "In any case, that is not dinner table language, you hear me?"

"Yes, sir, sorry" Eric replied quietly as he got on with eating his pork chop and mashed potatoes.

"So, Steven likes Jackie, huh?" Kitty said a moment later, "Y'know I think those two make a very cute couple. I tried to tell him a while back they should give it a try, I don't know why you kids don't listen to me" she shook her head, "I know what it's like you know, I was young and in love once too" she said, making eyes at Red who just looked embarrassed that she would do that in front of their son.

"Mom, please" Eric winced, letting his fork slip from his hand and land on his plate with a clatter, "No, you weren't young, and you never... God, no, bad mental imagery, eew" he complained, as Kitty laughed once again.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry" she apologised, "We'll just change the subject"

"Thank you" Eric sighed as they continued eating, "But just so you know, Hyde so doesn't love Jackie, and he never will, and thank God because it's just wrong"

"Oh I don't know" Red said thoughtfully, "A nice young woman who won't take his crap or let him continue to be a lazy ass, might just be the making of Steven"

"Y'know, Red, I think you're right" his wife agreed, "Steven has lost so many people from his life, both his parents abandoned him, he needs somebody who will love him and who he can take care of too" she nodded.

"No!" Eric protested loudly, and his parents looked up at him simultaneously with shocked expressions at his sudden and seemingly over the top outburst, "I mean, no" he said more calmly before going on to explain, "I mean, hey, when I spend all my time with Donna I get yelled at cos you think my grades or my chores will suffer. Now Hyde might like Jackie and you're, like, marrying them off or something!" he complained with a dramatic arm gesture that almost caused him to throw his fork across the kitchen.

"But honey, you and Steven, you're so different" Kitty explained.

"Right" Red nodded, "You have the potential to make something of yourself" he said, "We'll be proud if we can just keep Steven out of jail" he told his son who's eyes went wide, and wider still when he added, "Besides, whatever he's doing he's not doing it with the Forman name. I don't want any kid with my name flunking out or getting some girl in trouble" he said firmly.

Eric opened his mouth to answer, but soon decided against it as Red threatened that any smartmouth comments would only end with his foot in Eric's ass, as usual. Instead of saying anything, the boy just concentrated on dinner, as he thought over the conversation that had just taken place.

Hyde and Jackie, it was an insane concept, and surely his parents were looking at this all wrong. Hyde wouldn't date a girl as high-maintenance as Jackie, and she would never commit herself to someone so poor and scruffy as Hyde, Eric was sure of it. The fact remained, however, that they had been spending an awful lot of time together lately, and he wasn't the only one to notice. Kelso had mentioned it too, and he wasn't happy, even Donna had agreed she'd seen something between them. Whatever that something was, Eric hoped it'd end soon.

The idea of his best friend, and his other best friends ex ending up together was so freaky, if to ever actually happened the Earth would probably spin right off it's axis with shock. It was as crazy as Luke Skywalker being related to Darth Vader! Now that would be just completely freaky!

_To Be Continued..._


	7. Chapter 7 : Prank Day

**A/N : Time to get these two kids together, and mix up a couple of episodes at the same time! Loving the reviews I'm getting on this fic, thanx - people who read and review always rock :-)  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 7 - Prank Day

"Kelso could you be anymore lame?!" Hyde exclaimed as he, Eric, and Fez realised that their so-called friend had just pranked them all simultaneously.

"But it's Prank Day!" he repeated that which he had already said three times, and still nobody looked impressed.

"Oh my God, I think I might actually have a peanut, like, in my ear" Eric panicked as he held his headphones in his hands, the peanut butter on them starting to drip off one side as he stuck a finger in his ear to check for nuts.

"You son of a bitch!" Fez complained, spitting a large mouthful of Oreo back on the plate in front of him, "This is not delicious creamy goodness in my cookies!" he yelled, "This is toothpaste!"

"And a whoopee cushion, man" Hyde said holding up the offending item and shaking his head, "What are we in seventh grade again?" he asked.

In all honesty the tricks had been pretty funny, but he wasn't about to encourage Kelso in his stupidity, sometimes it all got very boring.

"Look, I need cheering up okay?" he sighed, "Breaking up with Jackie was really painful and so I thought if I invented a day of fun, and laughing at other people's pain, it'd help me feel better" he explained, "So now it's Prank Day, and you know what? I do feel better" he told them with a large grin, that barely fit on his face as he ran off to play tricks on some other poor unsuspecting people.

"Seriously, do you see a peanut in my ear?" Eric asked, forcing the side of his head in Hyde's face.

"No, but I do see a doofus right in front of my face" he complained, smacking Eric upside his head, "There is no peanut in your head, Forman, unless you count your brain" he smirked annoyingly, as Eric stormed towards the stairs and yelled up them for his mother. She was a nurse after all, she'd know how to check for peanuts in ears, and how to get them out safely.

"Sometimes Kelso is very annoying" Fez declared as he sat down in his usual chair, "But I must admit he is the King of Pranks"

"Yeah, he's a great big... pranker" Hyde smiled to himself as he re-inflated the whoopee cushion he'd sat on before and hid it back under the sofa cushion where Forman would probably sit on it later, hopefully in front of the gang or, even better, in front of a girl!

"But I am confused" Fez shook his head as he thought about the thing that puzzled him, "Why did Kelso say he broke up with Jackie? I thought she was the one who said they were broken up"

"She did, man" Hyde agreed, "Kelso's just being a man, and pretending like he was the one who ended things. See if he tells people that Jackie dumped him, he looks like an ass"

"And if he says he dumped her..." Fez began, only to have Hyde jump in and take over his sentence.

"Then he still looks like an ass, cos that's what Kelso is" he laughed, "but at least he looks like he was in control of his relationship with Jackie"

"Oh, that is funny" Fez laughed too, "Everybody knows that Jackie wore that pants in that relationship, just like she will wear the pants in yours"

"In my what?" Hyde frowned as he flipped through the comic book in his hands, he pretended not to know what his foreign friend was talking about, but in all honesty, he had his suspicions.

"Well, now Jackie is broken up with Kelso she is spending a lot of time with you" Fez told his friend, "And you are spending a lot of time with her"

"So?" Hyde shrugged, "I spend a lot of time with you and Forman, that doesn't mean we're dating"

"No, but you and Jackie have sparks and chemistry" he explained, "I would have liked it to be me she chose but, Moira has spoken" he sighed heavily as Hyde peered over the top of his comic book at him.

"Who's Moira?" he wanted to know, "And what the hell has she been saying about me and Jackie?"

"Moira is the personification on fate" Fez explained, "She decides what happens to us all, including who we fall in love with"

"Okay, no way, man, no way am I in love with Jackie" his friend denied it hotly, "I admit, she's not all bad, and we're kind of friends, okay? But there is no way I am in love with her, just no way, ever! I barely even like her, and..." he protested, realising half way through his rant, mostly thanks to the smirk on Fez's face, that perhaps he was arguing this point a little too much...

* * *

"Really, Jackie, it's cool. You don't have to do this" Donna protested as her friend started unpacking all kinds of make-up and board games and more out of a large bag she'd brought with her.

"No, Donna, I do have to do this" Jackie protested as she finally emptied the bag and reached to put her hand over Donna's on the bed, "This is a hard time for you, being your parents Anniversary and all. I promised you twenty-four hours of Jackie time, and that's exactly what you're going to get" she insisted, "And it's going to be so much fun" she giggled as she reached for one of the many items of make-up she had strewn across the bed, "Now, let's start by making you look prettier"

"Jackie, it's great that you want to help me out" Donna said as she shied away from the mascara wand that came at her suddenly, "but I don't think looking like you is the way to go"

"Well, obviously that's not going to happen, Donna" Jackie rolled her eyes, "You can't ever be as pretty as me, but you can still look good" she said as she set to work on her friends face with various products.

Honestly, Donna couldn't be bothered to argue, and it was kind of nice to know at least one person kind of cared, today of all days. She'd tried calling Casey but to no avail, he was out, so his mother had said. Her only option for company was Jackie, and it wasn't as if there weren't advantages to that.

"So, Jackie" she said awkwardly around the lipstick that was being thickly applied to her mouth, "When you're done making me look like Coco the Clown's whore" she complained, pulling away, and checking the damage in a hand mirror, "We should, hey, we should make this like a real slumber party, and I don't know, play Truth or Dare or something" she smiled.

"Well, okay, I guess we could do that" Jackie shrugged, deciding that was better than nothing, and at least it was a real girls game, not something stupid and lumber-jack-ish which had been her fear when she offered to spend so long in Donna's company.

"So, I'll go first" the red-head grinned, "And you'll pick truth cos you always do, so whats going on with you and Hyde?" she asked, looking genuinely excited to find out the answer.

"What kind of question is that?" Jackie laughed, though it was as fake as Bob's hair, "Steven and I are friends, that's all"

"Oh, that is so not all" Donna argued, "I remember the big-ass crush you had on him, and that date where you two kissed, and..."

"Donna, I told you, that kiss meant nothing" Jackie told her firmly, though she couldn't look her in the eye right now, instead turning away and putting various items of make-up back into the case from which they came.

"I'm not buying this, Jackie" Donna shook her head, "We all know that there is no way you two are hanging out as often as this without one of you liking the other more than friends"

"Then did you ever think, Donna, that maybe it's Steven who has the crush on me?" her friend asked, knowing it was a stupid thing to say, and more than that, purely wishful thinking.

She'd love to think Steven Hyde liked her that way, but they'd made a deal about just being friends and nothing more.

"I guess it's not impossible" the red-head considered, as Jackie's eyes grew wide. She'd expected Donna to laugh, to agree that Hyde would never seriously consider dating her, but apparently not, "I mean, he did take you on that date before, and he's always there for you, like our first Prom, and when Kelso cheated, and when Kelso cheated again, and..."

"Wow, he really has been there for me a lot" Jackie realised perhaps for the first time, just how much Steven really must have cared about her all along.

He was often brutally honest and even came across as a little harsh with her sometimes but in the end he always did what she asked, be it attending the school Prom or taking her on a real live date to prove whether they should be together or not.

"You do still like him!" Donna exclaimed as she watched a smile appear on her friends face.

"Oh Donna, I do" she admitted, an uncharacteristic blush rising in her cheeks, "Do you really think I could have a chance? That he could like me too?"

"Well, I never knew Hyde be so nice, or do so many favours for one person before" her friend told her seriously, "Even when he had that little crush on me, he was never into it as much as he is with you" she recalled, "Jackie, Hyde doesn't do the obvious stuff. He won't buy you flowers or sweep you off your feet with big romantic gestures" she rolled her eyes at the thought of all the stupid, over the top things Jackie had so often expected from Kelso, "But he has a good heart, behind all the Zen and crap. I really think he's into you" she explained.

Jackie could barely take in what she was being told, after all Steven wasn't exactly forthcoming in talking about his feelings and so on. It had taken so much effort to even get him to be friends with her, and there was that stupid deal...

"Donna, if he liked me so much, why would he make me promise not to like him that way?" she checked, "We have this stupid deal that we'll never be more than friends"

"That's cos he can't stand you going psycho like the last time!" Donna exclaimed, unable to believe that Jackie hadn't realised this, surely she wasn't quite that stupid, "Jackie, you have to be cool about this, let things move more slowly"

"Slowly?" the younger girl frowned, not liking the sound of that at all, especially now that Donna was agreeing with her and saying she thought Steven liked her too. It was all the encouragement she'd needed to go for it, and yet here was her friend now telling her not to, "I can go slowly" she said with a certain amount of distaste.

"That's good, cos y'know..." Donna began only to find herself ignored and interrupted as Jackie leapt to her feet.

"Oh Donna, I can't wait, I have to go talk to Steven right now!" she exclaimed, bolting for the door.

She either didn't hear her friend calling her name behind her, or didn't care enough to stop.

"Oh, this is bad" Donna said to herself, but she was smiling - at least she'd gotten rid of Jackie for a while.

* * *

Jackie bolted from her friends house, running around to the Forman's residence. She got half way across the driveway when she almost rammed straight into the person coming the other way.

"Steven!" she gasped at the sight of him, "Well, what are you doing out here?" she asked, the wind completely knocked out of her sails now that she'd actually come face to face with him.

Hyde was suffering a similar problem. He'd been fine in the basement, talking to Fez, being reminded just how deep his feelings for Jackie ran. The gang were starting to notice, and it was getting harder to deny the more time they spent together. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to just be with her, he'd realised, and she was a lot less likely to leave him than some other people in his life that he'd loved.

It hadn't taken as long as perhaps it should have for Hyde to be completely convinced he needed to go talk to Jackie and work this thing out. If she wanted to date him then maybe they should try it, see what happens. Now here he was, in the middle of the driveway, face to face with the young woman he was falling for and suddenly he wasn't sure what to say.

"I was, er,... nothing, I was doing nothing" he told her lamely as he turned away, removing his glasses as he did so and rubbing his eyes.

He was an idiot, man, he was like Forman! He couldn't even talk to her all of a sudden and it freaked him out that he could be so lame. Maybe he liked Jackie even more than he realised if she could make him feel such a fool.

"Steven" she called his attention back, "I... I have something to say to you" she said with slightly forced confidence, "You see, I was talking to Donna, and y'know that crazy lumberjack said that... well, she said, that maybe we spent so much time together because, well, we like each other" she explained.

"You and Donna?" he checked, pretty sure that wasn't what she meant, but saying it anyway.

"No, doofus, you and me!" Jackie told him, almost angry he wasn't getting it yet, "She thinks you and me should..." she began, suddenly realising how close they were standing together, how intense his eyes were as they looked down into hers, how much she really wanted to be with him.

"Thinks you and me should, what?" Hyde prompted, his voice sounding wrong even to himself, too soft and emotional.

Did he really want to be this guy? He wasn't sure and couldn't think as he and Jackie seemed to float closer together until finally their lips met.

* * *

"Mrs Forman!" Kelso yelled as he bolted through from the front door of the house into the kitchen, almost bowling Red over in the process, "Mrs Forman! Can I borrow some oatmeal for this really cool pr..." he stopped short when he spotted two people out on the driveway kissing.

Surely it couldn't be Jackie and Hyde?

"Kelso, man, what is it?" Eric asked from the his seat at the kitchen table.

He got to his feet and followed his friends eyeline as Kitty did the same, and they both watched as Hyde and Jackie put their arms around each other and kissed with an intensity that stunned them all.

"Oh, burn!" Kelso suddenly exclaimed, "Oh that is the best prank of the whole frickin' day, man!" he yelled, laughing loudly.

Eric and Kitty shared a troubled look. From what they were seeing, it didn't look much like a prank, it just seemed that Jackie and Steven were in love.

_To Be Continued..._


	8. Chapter 8 : The FallOut

**A/N : I Really have to learn not to be so easily distracted! Again, I must apaologise that this chapter is late, and also that this is in fact the last chapter. There is more I could do with this story, but I could see it fast becoming a carbon copy of series five if I continued, and I didn't want that. Basically in the eight chapters here I have done what I set out to do, brought Jackie and Hyde together in a new and hopefully interesting way, earlier than they got together on the show. This was my goal, and I think I have acheived it, therefore, this is the end...  
**_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 8 - The Fall-Out

"Oh, burn!" Kelso exclaimed, "Oh that is the best prank of the whole frickin' day, man!" he yelled, laughing loudly.

Eric and Kitty shared a troubled look. From what they were seeing, it didn't look much like a prank, it just seemed that Jackie and Steven were in love as they kissed passionately in the driveway.

"Er, Kelso..." Eric began awkwardly, taking the other young mans attention from the kissing couple, "I don't think that they're... I don't think that's a prank"

"Oh, come on, Eric!" Kelso rolled his eyes, still laughing, "Like Jackie would seriously want to kiss Hyde like that!"

"Well, y'know, honey" Kitty said carefully, "they've been spending a lot of time together lately and..."

"No! No way!" Kelso protested, looking back out the screen door at his friend and ex-girlfriend, still lost in a moment together, "I'll kill him" he said suddenly, rushing from the door which opened with more ease than he'd expected and he tumbled through almost falling to the ground. He righted himself just in time and faced Hyde who had been distracted from kissing Jackie by the loud clattering of Kelso joining them in the driveway.

"Michael" Jackie yelped, guessing he'd seen her with Steven and worrying what his reaction might be.

Sure, she'd dumped his sorry ass, and she could be with any man she wanted, but she had enough heart and left-over love for Michael that she didn't want him to find out about her feelings for Steven in such a way, she would rather have told him herself.

"You're dead, Hyde!" Kelso growled as he scrambled to grab at his so-called friend.

Hyde just pushed on the other boys back as he tried to get up, sending him sprawling on the ground once again.

"Hey, cool it, man" he instructed him, "What is your problem?"

"My problem?!" Kelso echoed, looking up from the ground, "You're kissing my girl!"

"No, Michael!" Jackie shrieked at him, "I am not your girl, I dumped you remember, we are so over" she reminded him and Kelso looked somewhat less angry and a lot more sad as he was finally allowed to get to his feet.

"But..." he began, as he looked at his best friend and ex-girl standing there with an arm around each other still.

They hadn't done anything wrong, not really. Jackie was right, they were broken up, but he'd always thought they'd get back together someday though, they always did.

"But, you hate Hyde" he said lamely, knowing that couldn't be true anymore since he'd just witnessed a rather spectacular game of tonsil hockey through the screen-door.

"No, Michael" Jackie shook her head, feeling at least a little bad for Kelso by now, "I did hate him, at least I think I did, but that was a long time ago"

"Yeah, man" Hyde agreed, "The hate thing, it kinda blew itself out. I like her now" he said, careful of exactly what he said.

Even though he knew he liked her an awful lot, and could even be falling for her, Hyde wasn't ready yet to be spilling out words of true love. If that came later, so be it, but it'd be a long time coming.

"We like each other, a lot" Jackie confirmed, feeling stronger just because Steven's arm was around her, holding her close, "We didn't do this to hurt you, Michael, we..."

"Whatever" Kelso waved his arm in a non-caring gesture as he strode away, tears evident in his eyes.

"Michael, wait!" Jackie called behind him, hating that she'd caused him pain, even if she shouldn't care after all the times he'd made her cry. Besides, they were broken up, she had every right to move on.

"Wow, guys" Eric appeared from the kitchen, smiling so much he was almost laughing, "Great prank, like the best one yet"

"Forman" Hyde sighed, "You know it's not a prank"

"Oh, come on" Eric rolled his eyes, "You and Jackie? That's like.. that's like... it's like you've gone over to the dark side, man!" he said in a faux whisper aimed at Hyde which Jackie could so obviously hear anyway.

"Well, I think it's just wonderful" Kitty gave her opinion, since it seemed everybody else was going to, "I'm just, I'm so very happy to see you with a nice girl, Steven. Besides, there ought to be at least one happy young couple around here" she said, trademark laugh following on from her sentence as she made a point of not looking at her own son.

"Thanks, Mrs Forman" Hyde smiled at her, "You may be the only one who thinks it's so wonderful"

"No, she's not" Jackie told him, "I think we're wonderful too" she smiled, and he smiled back before kissing her briefly.

"Aaaw" Kitty smiled, "You two are just so cute together, I don't know why it didn't work out the first time around" she said with a sigh as she went back into the kitchen to continue her housework.

"Mom!" Eric complained, as he turned and followed her, "Don't encourage them!" he was saying as the screen-door slammed shut behind him.

Back out on the driveway, Jackie looked down the street where Kelso had gone and let out a sigh.

"I never meant to hurt him" she said sadly, "I didn't plan any of this, I just, I was talking to Donna, and the more I talked about you, the more I realised, I couldn't stick to that stupid deal we had. I don't want us to just be friends anymore"

"Yeah, me and Fez pretty much had the same conversation" Hyde admitted as they began walking back to the basement together, his arm still around her.

"Who knew the lumberjack and the foreign kid could be good relationship councillors?" Jackie said thoughtfully, as Hyde grinned at her bizarre wording.

Sure she could be annoying as hell, and way too into her girlie crap like pink glitter and unicorns, but there was more to this chick than he gave her credit for. Maybe they could make it work in the long term, only time would tell.

* * *

"No way, Mom!" Eric whined to Kitty as he stood by the counter watching her ice cup-cakes with chocolate icing, "No way are Hyde and Jackie in love. Okay, Hyde doesn't even believe in love!"

"Oh sure he does, sweetheart" his mother told him, "He believes in it, he's just, well, he hasn't had too much of it, and maybe he gets a little scared of admitting his feelings. Y'know the way his mother and father treated him, I'm surprised that boy's not a complete emotional wreck" she said in a low voice, just in case anybody around might hear, not that there was anyone that could.

"I'm sorry, Mom, but Jackie and Hyde together?" Eric told her, "That is never going to be normal"

"Well, y'know, some people thought you and Donna shouldn't be together" Kitty reminded him.

"And obviously they shouldn't" Red said as he strolled through the kitchen to the table and sat himself down with the newspaper, "She was too good for you, Eric, everybody could see it but you"

"Thanks, Dad" Eric nodded, sarcasm evident in his tone, not that Red seemed to notice or care.

"Oh Red, it's wonderful" his wife told him excitedly, the grin she wore threatening to split her face in two as she bounced up and down like she were a spring-loaded toy, "Steven has a girlfriend"

"Alright, Steven" Red smiled, "Y'know I was starting to worry about that boy. Could be that a nice young woman in his life is what he needs to really straighten him out"

"Yeah, 'cept he hasn't got a 'nice young woman'" Eric air-quoted, "He's got Jackie" he said distastefully, unable to hold back the involuntary shudder that ran through him.

"Jackie?" Red said thoughtfully, realising that that names of Eric's friends really didn't stick in his head correctly anymore, there were just too many of these damn kids hanging around his home lately!

"Yes, Red, you remember Jackie" Kitty urged him, "Short, dark hair, a little bossy, but in a sweet way, I think" she said awkwardly.

"Oh, right" her husband nodded, "The one I like, the one who can hold a flash light, and is always polite and honest" he smiled as he went back to his newspaper.

Eric just looked between his parents who seemed not only to be happy that Hyde and Jackie were together, but they were able to carry on as if it were a normal day.

"Come on, guys, don't you know what this means?!" he asked over-dramatically, "Jackie and Hyde together? That's like a sign! A sign that the end of the world as we know it is on it's way!"

"Oh, Eric, are you okay?" Fez asked as he appeared from the basement, "You are turning a strange mixture of colours" he noted, "And they do not go with your outfit" when Eric didn't reply, Fez simply ignored him and approached Kitty, "Miss Kitty, I cannot stay in the basement, may I sit up here and have some cake?"

"Well, of course, Fez, honey" she smiled, handing the boy a cup-cake, "but why can't you sit in the basement like you were before?"

"Oh, because Hyde said I was not allowed to watch him and Jackie making out" he told the Formans' with a sigh, "He is a strange boy, no?"

* * *

"Maybe we should've let Fez stay down here" Jackie sighed, "It was a little mean kicking him out"

"You want an audience when we're together?" Hyde frowned slightly before smiling, "Cos I guess I could get into that"

"Steven!" Jackie complained, swatting him across the chest, "No! I just, I don't want to upset anymore of our friends" she said, the look on her face telling Hyde exactly what she meant.

"Jackie, you can't worry about Kelso" he told her, "He didn't worry about you when he cheated on you, or let you down, or made you cry"

"He did do that stuff a lot" she nodded, "You love me too much to do that to me, right Steven?"

"Sure thing, doll" he said, leaning in to kiss her once again, "Wait a second, love?" he said, backing off suddenly, "No, no way, I'm not..."

"Steven!" Jackie complained, "Just shut up and kiss me" she urged him, and despite his better judgement, he did just that.

After all, what was there to fight over. What he might feel, what she might feel. What they had was cool, and for now it worked, as undefined as it was. As to the rest, they'd worry about that later, if they had too. This was better than it had ever been for either of them right now, and Kelso, and Eric, and everybody else could say and do what they wanted, right now Jackie and Steven couldn't care less. There seemed no point in spoiling what they had with talking when they could be kissing each other.

Nothing was better than this.

The End


End file.
